Major Barbara is a three act play by George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60 plays. Nearly all his writings deal sternly with, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907.
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Setting
- London
- Act I: Lady Britomart's house in Wilton Crescent
- Act II: The Salvation Army shelter in West Ham
- Act III: Lady Britomart's house, later at the Undershaft munitions works in Perivale St Andrews
Synopsis
An Officer of The Salvation Army, Major Barbara Undershaft, becomes disillusioned when her Christian Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. Christianity comprises three major branches: Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy (the two split from one another in 1054 A.D.), and Protestantism (which came into existence during the Protestant Reformation of the 16 denomination The term describes various Christian denominations . The term also describes the four branches of Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist), and describes the two main branches of Islam (Sunni and Shia) accepts money from an armaments manufacturer (her father) and a whisky Whisky or whiskey (Irish English) is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and maize (corn). Whisky is aged in wooden casks, made generally of white oak, except that in the United States corn whiskey need not distiller. She eventually decides that bringing a message of salvation to people who have plenty will be more fulfilling and genuine than converting Religious conversion is the adoption of new religious beliefs that differ from the convert's previous beliefs. It involves a new religious identity, or a change from one religious identity to another. Conversion requires internalization of the new belief system. It implies a new reference point for one's self identity and is a matter of belief and the starving in return for bread.
Although Barbara initially regards the Salvation Army's acceptance of Undershaft's money as hypocrisy, Shaw did not intend that it should be thought so by the audience. Shaw wrote a preface for the play's publication, in which he derided the idea that charities should only take money from "morally pure" sources. He points out that donations can always be used for good, whatever their provenance, and he quotes a Salvation Army officer, "they would take money from the devil himself and be only too glad to get it out of his hands and into God's".
Plot
Lady Britomart, the daughter of a British earl Earl was the Anglo-Saxon form and jarl the Scandinavian form of a title meaning "chieftain" and referring especially to chieftains set to rule a territory in a king's stead. In Scandinavia, it became obsolete in the Middle Ages and was replaced with duke . In later medieval Britain, it became the equivalent of the continental count (in, and her son Stephen discuss a source of income for her grown daughters Sarah, who is engaged to Charles Lomax, and Barbara, who is engaged to Adolphus Cusins (a scholar Scholarly method or scholarship — is the body of principles and practices used by scholars to make their claims about the world as valid and trustworthy as possible, and to make them known to the scholarly public of Greek literature Greek literature refers to writings composed in areas of Greek influence, typically though not necessarily in one of the Greek dialects,[citation needed] throughout the whole period in which the Greek-speaking people have existed). Lady Britomart leads Stephen to accept her decision that they must ask her estranged husband, Andrew Undershaft, for financial help. Mr. Undershaft is a successful and wealthy businessman A businessperson is employed at usually a profit-oriented enterprise, or more specifically, someone who is involved in the management (at any level) of a company, or even an entrepreneur. The term businessperson almost always refers to someone with a "white collar" occupation who has made millions of pounds from his munitions factory, which manufactures the world famous Undershaft guns, cannons, torpedoes, submarines and aerial battleships.
When their children were still small, the Undershafts separated; now grown up, the children have not seen their father since, and Lady Britomart has raised them by herself. During their reunion, Undershaft learns that Barbara is a Major in The Salvation Army who works at their shelter in West Ham West Ham is in the London Borough of Newham in London, England. In the west it is a post-industrial neighbourhood abutting the site of the London Olympic Park and in the east it is mostly residential, consisting of Victorian terraced housing interspersed with higher density post-War social housing. The area has been one of the most deprived in the, east London. Barbara and Mr. Undershaft agree that he will visit Barbara's Army shelter, if she will then visit his munitions factory.
When he visits the shelter, Mr. Undershaft is impressed with Barbara's handling of the various people who seek social services Social work is a profession committed to the pursuit of social justice, to quality of life, and to the development of the full potential of each individual, group and community in a society. Social workers draw on the social sciences to solve social problems. They may work in research, practice, or both. Practitioners will usually possess a degree from the Salvation Army: she treats them with patience, firmness, and sincerity. Undershaft and Cusins discuss the question of Barbara's commitment to The Salvation Army, and Undershaft decides he must overcome Barbara's moral horror of his occupation. He declares that he will therefore "buy" the Salvation Army. He makes a sizeable donation, matching another donation from a whisky distiller. Barbara wants the Salvation Army to refuse the money because it comes from the armaments and alcohol industries, but her supervising officer eagerly accepts it. Barbara sadly leaves the shelter in disillusionment.
According to tradition, the heir to the Undershaft fortune must be an orphan who can be groomed to run the factory. Lady Britomart tries to convince Undershaft to bequeath the business to his son Stephen, but he will not. He says that the best way to keep the factory in the family is to find a foundling and marry him to Barbara. Later, Barbara and the rest of her family accompany her father to his munitions factory. They are all impressed by its size and organisation. Cusins declares that he is a foundling, and is thus eligible to inherit the business. Undershaft eventually overcomes Cusins' moral scruples about the nature of the business. Cusins' acceptance makes Barbara more content to marry him, not less, because bringing a message of salvation to the factory workers, rather than to London slum-dwellers, will bring her more fulfilment.
Production History
UK
The play was first produced at the Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre. In 1956 it was acquired by and is home to a resident company, the English Stage Company in London London is a leading global city, the world's largest financial centre alongside New York, and has the largest city GDP in Europe. Central London is home to the headquarters of most of the UK's top 100 listed companies and more than 100 of Europe's 500 largest. London's influence and strengths in the arts, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, in 1905 by J.E. Vedrenne and Harley Granville-Barker Harley Granville-Barker was an English actor, director, producer, critic and playwright. Barker also played Cusins, alongside Clare Greet, Edmund Gwenn and Annie Russell.
In the summer of 1988, the Chichester Festival Theatre presented a production with Sir Donald Sinden as Andrew Undershaft, Anna Carteret as Barbara and Marc Sinden as Stephen Undershaft, directed by Christopher Morahan.
A production from 26 February to 3 July 2008 at the National Theatre The Royal National Theatre, London, England, is generally known as the National Theatre and commonly as The National. Founded in 1963, it is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company featured Simon Russell Beale as Andrew Undershaft, Hayley Atwell as Barbara, Clare Higgins as Lady Britomart and Paul Ready as Cusins.
USA
The play first opened on Broadway Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 large professional theatres with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City. Along with London's West End theatre, Broadway theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of at the Playhouse Theatre December 9, 1915. There have been four Broadway revivals, 1928 at the Guild Theatre, 1956 at the Martin Beck Theatre and then the Morosco Theatre, 1980 at the Circle in the Square Theatre, and 2001 at the American Airlines Theatre.
The 1956 revival received the Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live American theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for for Best Stage Technician (Howard McDonald). It was nominated for Best Scenic Design (Donald Oenslager) and Best Costume Design (Dorothy Jenkins).
The 1980 revival received a Tony nomination for Reproduction (Play or Musical). (Theodore Mann: Artistic Director; Paul Libin: Managing Director).
The actor An actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity. The ancient Greek word for an "actor," ὑποκριτής (hypokrites), means literally "one who interprets"; in this sense, an actor is one who interprets a dramatic character who played Andrew Undershaft in the 2001 revival, David Warner, received the Theatre World Award.
Film
A film adaptation of 1941 was produced by Gabriel Pascal, and starred Wendy Hiller Dame Wendy Margaret Hiller DBE was an English film and stage actress, who enjoyed a varied acting career that spanned nearly sixty years. Despite many notable film performances, she chose to remain primarily a stage actress, Rex Harrison Sir Reginald “Rex” Carey Harrison was an English actor of stage and screen, who won both an Academy Award and a Tony Award and Robert Morley Robert Morley CBE was an English actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment. In Movie Encyclopedia, film critic Leonard Maltin describes Morley as "recognizable by his ungainly bulk, bushy eyebrows, thick lips, and double chin, […] particularly effective when cast as.
Background
Character Inspirations
Lady Britomart Undershaft was modelled on Rosalind Howard, Countess of Carlisle, the mother-in-law of Gilbert Murray George Gilbert Aimé Murray was an Australian born British classical scholar and public intellectual, with connections in many spheres. He was an outstanding scholar of the language and culture of Ancient Greece, perhaps the leading authority in the first half of the twentieth century. He is the basis for the character of Adolphus Cusins in his, who with his wife Lady Mary served as inspiration for Adolphus Cusins and Barbara Undershaft.[1]
Andrew Undershaft was loosely inspired by a number of figures, most notably the arms dealer Basil Zaharoff, and German armanents tycoon Siegfried Krupp. Undershaft's unscrupulous sale of weapons to any and all bidders, as well as his government influence and more pertinently his company's method of succession (to a foundling rather than a son), tie him especially to Krupp. Undershaft's sense of morality can be compared to the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche as well.
Notes
- ^ Sidney P. Albert, "'In More Ways than One': Major Barbara's Debt to Gilbert Murray," Educational Theatre Journal, Vol. 20, No. 2. (May, 1968), pp. 123-140, and idem, "From Murray's Mother-in-Law to Major Barbara: The Outside Story," SHAW: The Annual of Bernard Shaw Studies 22 (2001), pp. 19-65.
External links
- 1905 Royal Court production on the Global Performing Arts Database
- Major Barbara at the Internet Broadway Database The Internet Broadway Database is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade association for the North American commercial theatre community (1915)
- Major Barbara at the Internet Broadway Database The Internet Broadway Database is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade association for the North American commercial theatre community (1928 revival)
- Major Barbara at the Internet Broadway Database The Internet Broadway Database is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade association for the North American commercial theatre community (1956 revival)
- Major Barbara at the Internet Broadway Database The Internet Broadway Database is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade association for the North American commercial theatre community (1980 revival)
- Major Barbara at the Internet Broadway Database The Internet Broadway Database is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade association for the North American commercial theatre community (2001 revival)
- Articles about Major Barbara at South Coast Repertory
- Script
Categories: 1905 plays | Plays by George Bernard Shaw | The Salvation Army
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